Did you know the cost of a 30-second spot on this year’s Super Bowl was $3 million (Source:Reuters)? This got me thinking...For the cost of this one, 30-second spot, what are the results a brand could have seen investing $3 million in a Word of Mouth marketing program?

According to Forrester Research Inc, Word of Mouth impressions on the social web are about ¼ impressions of paid media. (This doesn’t include offline WOM impressions.) Super Bowl ads have massive reach. 7 out of 10 people watching TV on Sunday were tuned into the Super Bowl. And a really great Super Bowl ad like Apple’s 1984 ad creates a ton of positive WOM and can be a defining moment for the brand. But nothing beats WOM when it comes to trust and real influence.

So, which marketing decision do you think has more “lifetime marketing value?” A 30-second spot on the Superbowl or energizing your Brand Advocates for 20 years?